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Tabitha's PoV

Awesome day be awesome! First, we went to Ken's house on Friday to "rescue" him, but then we got captured by someone, and seriously, that person was able to sneak up on us and made us fall asleep. Pro skills, I tell ya! And then when we woke up, we were all tied up, Ken was in front of us, and I honestly didn't know what was happening and it was surprising yet fun! The night later, we all slept in one room, and it was a ton of fun and we talked about a lot of fun things! The next day, we ate breakfast that was so delicious and we spent the morning exploring Ken's house, and they had everything! So amazing! And then after exploring, we went to a nearby pizza place and ate some pizza. Awesome day!

...

Do you really think I would say stuff like that...?

...

I was terrified... terrified on what would have happened... what would have happened if I showed them I woke up... my heart was beating so fast on that moment. Yes, I was awake when Ken and his mom were talking, emphasis on the punishment part. Yes, I was just faking my sleep, otherwise I could've been caught. Yes, I heard everything, and how Ken's mom suddenly had a change of heart. Yes, I faked that I was just chill, it was all an act. If I hadn't been chill, they'd probably see how weak I am. And I know I'm not. I'm not weak...

"I'M NOT WEAK GODDAMIT!" I yell inside my head, and I continue to tell myself, "I'm not weak," as I fake my calm, happy looking face while walking back to my house.

I arrive at my house, and I take a good look at it. Compared to Ken's house, ours is very simple. Just imagine a simple two-floor house, on the first floor are the living room, kitchen and dining room, on the second floor are the bedrooms, and that's it. There's nothing too great about it, and that's enough for me. I mean, it's not like we need a big space for a family bonding. We'd just watch TV together in the living room, yelling, shouting, and cheering for our sports team.

I let out a sigh. I'm tired of smiling, but here goes. With a fake smile, I open the door and greet my parents with a happy sounding voice. "Yo, I'm home~!" I wave my paw at Mom and Dad.

"Welcome back, Tabitha. Did you have fun?" Mom glances at me before turning her attention back at the meat and vegetable stew she's cooking. I breath in the aroma of the stew and let out a deep, contented sigh. Smelling it is already making me hungry, even though I already had a bit of pizza. Not to brag, but Mom really makes the best stew ever, especially how the veggies taste. While I do like myself some meat, especially beef, veggies would never leave my side.

"Well, she's having fun with his boy friends, I can tell," Dad mocks me. He's currently reading the newspapers, but I know he's just reading the sports section because that's the only part that he usually reads. He does say he reads the news from time to time, but I never saw him do so. Until then, I'll refuse to believe what he said.

"Yeah, it was a blast. But I'm kinda pooped, so I'm gonna head to my room now," I say before I let out a yawn. I may be faking my smile, but I'm really dead tired. After their approval, I skip up the stairs. When I reach the second floor, my smile fades to a tired look. "I'm tired..." I mutter to myself as I drag my feet to my room and go inside.

My room... would you believe me that my room isn't a big mess, but rather everything is arranged neatly? It shouldn't be surprising, right? I don't mind a bit of chaos, but... there's really nothing else for me to do, so why not clean my room? I mean, with a clean room you can easily find stuffs that you might have lost. And that you have more free space to do other stuff. And you won't have to worry on stepping on something. So, I shouldn't say that just because I have free time...

I slap my cheeks and shake my head vigorously to remove these useless thought. Dammit, Tabitha, stop reasoning about these things. I just have a clean bedroom and that's that. There's really nothing to think about. I walk to my bed and drop my bag beside it. I take a good look around my room before I let myself fall backwards and let the bed catch me.

I stare blankly at the ceiling. There's a post taped on it, saying "Don't give up!" that makes me smirk. I remember writing that three years ago, back when I was still carefree and not hiding my real smiles. I jumped up and down this bed, trying to tape it up there, and I did. It was fun trying to tape it up there and only to have it ripped apart because of my carelessness and holding on to it as I fall back down.

"It's been three years, huh?" I ask myself. A smile creeps on my face as I swung my arms over my eyes, covering them with my wrist. "Time flies by so fast," I tell myself. I let those word sink in my mind. I try to keep up a smile but tears start flowing down from my eyes. "Why can't things just stay the same?"

I just stay there, sobbing and crying like the little baby I am. Weak. I know that. But I'm not. I don't... I don't understand anymore. The more I tell myself I'm not weak, the more I succumb to how weak I actually am. I don't understand myself anymore. I just can't... I can't. I can't what? I don't know. I don't know anymore.

I'm struggling, trying to break free from these chains that bind me from what I want to do. But these chains are unbreakable. Not because of lack of trying, but because they just are. Chains made of the memories of the past. They bind me, shackle me, keep me from going above the ground, from being able to jump to where I want to be. And it hurts... It hurts, and all I can do is just cry.

"Heads up!" someone yells. Before I can react, something bounces off my face.

"What the hell, Tim?!" I yell at my little brother. A basketball slowly rolls back to him before he picks it up. Tim, my little brother. A real rascal who loves teasing me. Well not really to blame because I also tease him. It's what we call, "sibling love" in a form of hating each other. It's better than being lovey dovey siblings who keep hugging each other. I always shudder when I think of that.

"Not my fault that you were spacing out. You should've been able to block it, but nooo, you had to go all emo again," Tim says with his very annoyingly mocking tone.

"You jerk, you'd think that I'd be able to block it shortly before your 'heads up'?!"

"That's the sister I once knew," his response was serious that it made me speechless. I can't help but look away and not make eye contact, not because I was annoyed, but because he was right. I could've blocked it, but I couldn't. Didn't. "Also, we're having a big game next week. I'd like it if you come this time," he says before leaving, the worry in his face clearly showing

He may be a rascal who constantly annoys me, but Timothy Melow is a little brother who always thinks about others. Only he knows that I fake my smiles and laughs from time to time. Either that or Mom and Dad knows but never bothered to talk to me about it. Still, Tim would always try to find ways to make me feel better, in his own ways. In fact, him annoying me makes me forget about all the problems in my mind. I wouldn't want any other little brother.

Though, it makes me wonder, how many times have I faked my smile and laugh yesterday and today. Actually, I wasn't all terrified about everything. I actually did have fun with them at times, like that sleepover, breakfast, the exploring, and when we ate pizza together. I don't always fake my smile and laugh, just that I do them from time to time to hide my weak side.

...

That's right. I don't always fake everything. I do enjoy the time I spent together with them. But there are times when I have to fake it otherwise they'll see that I'm weak. And I'm not. And I know that. I'm not weak... am I?

...

Fast forward to Monday, because who cares about what happened on Sunday. School goes by incredibly faster than usual. Maybe it's because we have some actual activities to do rather than just sit on a chair listening to the teachers talk about Calculus. Ugh, that one hour of torture. I really hate that subject. Anyways, after class, it's my turn to be cleaning the room, along with Nicole Wilson, a brown Tabby Cat with brown hair styled to a ponytail and brown eyes. After cleaning, I say goodbye to her before dashing up the stairs to the club room.

Except it's closed. There's a note on the door.

"Hey, guys ~ So, I kidnapped Varu so don't come looking for us. No club today, so do what you want. Peace!" and insert a cartoon-ish face of Riese with a peace sign. That's what's on the note.

"Seriously?" I let out a sigh. At least I can go home earlier today. I don't know why but I feel sad that there's no club today. Maybe it's because I'm used to going here everyday. Does that mean I'm club-sick or something? That aside, I walk down the stairs and see Nicole on the door with a bag for tennis rackets slinged to her shoulders. Wonder what she's up to.

Before I attempt to go near her, she shakes her head vigorously before slapping her cheeks with her paws. "Alright, today, you're going to join the Tennis Club. There's no time to hesitate. I can do this," she continues to pump herself up for a few seconds, only to lose confidence afterwards. "Ugh... I can't..." she depresses herself.

Wow, that was a quick change of attitude. I call her out as I walk towards her. She notices and greets me, trying to hide her depressed tone with a cheery-sounding one.

"So, you wanted to join the Tennis Club?" I ask her, and she replies with a shy nod. "Then what are you scared of?"

"I'm not scared. I just feel like I can't fit in with them," she says sheepishly as her ears droop.

"That's pretty much the same as being scared, dummy," I tell her bluntly, and it looks like it made her lose more confidence. I take a good look at her, and she seems like she can definitely join. I should know, because Mom was a tennis player back then. "But hey, if you really want to join," I grab her wrist, making her jolt in surprise, "I'll be here for you. Now let's go!"

I run outside, bringing with me the flustered Nicole. She continues to whine about how she's not gonna be able to fit in with them, but I just ignore her. She reminds me of someone I knew from the past, but I just shake those memories off. No one needs to know that, I'm just helping Nicole join the Tennis Club. No need for those unnecessary backstories.

We finally reach the tennis court where the Tennis Club members are practicing their swings, while there are others who are having a match. Forgive my lack of tennis terms, because I'm not really into tennis that much.

A Lioness is supervising the members, which I assume is the Club President. I mean, she looks like a third year, has a mature face, and is supervising. How is she not the Club Pres? I walk towards her, still dragging the jittering Tabby Cat with me. "Excuse me, are you the Club Pres by any chance?" I ask her.

She looks at me with a strong gaze, but nothing like that can make me flinch because I'm used to it. Of course, what happened at Ken's house was another story. I wasn't prepared for that.

"Yes, I am. My name is Noel Leon, the Club President of the Tennis Club. You can just call me Noel," her voice was supposed to sound kind, but it wasn't. Though, what's there to expect from someone who shows a great leadership skill just by looking at her. She looks like she was born to be a leader from the very beginning.

As I admire her aura, I feel Nicole's wrist shake a bit. I turn my attention to her, and she's staring at the Lioness with a terrified expression. "Hey, you okay?" I ask. No response. Well, she's a lost cause, but I'm not giving up. This is what she wants, and I'm giving her what she wants.

"Anyways, Ms. Club Pres, she wants to join the Tennis Club, if that's okay with you," I move Nicole forward. The Lioness gives her a firm gaze, making the Tabby Cat tense up, her tail straightening in shock. The Lioness analyzes Nicole from head to toe, muttering some words from time to time. After a while, she frowns and lets out a sigh.

"What's your name?"

"N-Nicole Wilson," she barely lets out a sound. The Lioness lets out another sigh.

"Look, you have potential and I'd like to see that grow, but without guts, there's no glory that you can achieve. I can't accept someone who's always scared and have to have someone drag her to join," the Lioness says bluntly and coldly, also giving me an icy glance that didn't really affect me. Nicole looks down in shame as she starts to sob. I let out a sigh before turning my attention to the Lioness.

"Then how about an exhibition match?" I ask the Lioness. She raises an eyebrow at me, giving a semi-impressed look. "You say she has potential and that you'd like to see that potential grow, right? You can host a match and have her fight someone in the club. Win or lose, if she does good, you'll let her join. After all, one isn't just born to be a player, they mere made." I cross my arms as I continue to talk. She looks back at me with icy daggers, but I counter it all back with an icy shield. I'm not going to budge because of this.

"You know, I'm impressed, I really am. Not only do you have the build of a great player, but you have great confidence and quite the guts in you. How about you join?" she complements me, ignoring the fact that Nicole is just there, depressed. I feel my temper rise because of how she just casually ignored Nicole over there, but I just let in a deep breath and sigh.

"I'm not the one joining the club. She is," I glance at Nicole. "And besides, I'm already in a club."

She huffs before she takes turn shifting gaze from me, to Nicole, back to me, then Nicole, leaning a bit closer at each shift. After a while, she straightens herself.

"Aight then. We'll have an exhibition match this Friday. I'll tell them about it and ask who'll be your sparring partner. I'll have you guys know that I'm not just gonna let a newbie fight you. You'll be facing someone with experience, so you better do your best."

I wait for Nicole to respond, but it looks like she's still in depression and not moving. I agree on behalf of Nicole and the Lioness turns around, her tail almost looking like it whipped in the air, before leaving without another word. Afterwards, I forcibly take Nicole to the school gate, her eyes really showing that depressed look.

"Geez, how long are you gonna be depressed about that?" I ask.

"I... I..."she mutters faintly before yelling at me with anger, her eyes tearing up. "I could've been just fine doing it by myself! Why did you have to butt in and make myself look like a weakling! I didn't need your help! I could've... I could've..." she falls silent as she looks at the floor, hugging herself in sadness as tears roll down her cheeks. I do feel guilty of what happened, but I just gave her a little push. I didn't want it to end like that.

"I didn't want it to end like that. Look, I'm sorry for butting in to your business, but how else would you be able to join without someone else's support? You'd just... end up depressed, and you'll be alone then... you won't be able to..." I cross my arms and look away from her. I don't want to remember.

A moment of silence comes, with only Nicole's sobbing and a few students' talk about who yelled were the only things that can be heard.

"You're right. I'm sorry," I turn to Nicole and see her wiping away her own tears. "Thanks, Tabitha," she forces a genuine smile, a smile that I also make from time to time. I can't help but smile at her as well. "I'm... I'm okay now. I'm sorry for... throwing a fit. I don't know what came over me," she forces a laugh.

"Hey, if it helps, I threw a lot of fits back then," I try to cheer her up, and it worked since she laughed.

"So, are you doing anything today? Shouldn't you be at your club?"

"Our Club Pres kidnapped our Peace Officer, so no club meeting today."

"K-Kidnapped?!" Nicole is genuinely shocked. I thought my sarcasm was obvious.

"Well, it's not really kidnapped. I don't know much of the details, but knowing Riese, he's probably just doing something random again. That guy," I smirk at the thought. He's a weird one.

"Oh, Riese Fritz. Yeah, he can be a bit weird, sometimes, like that first day of class. You're in the same club as him?"

"Yep, along with Varu, Rue, and another first year names Ken Aki, so there's five of us in the High Flyers Club."

"And what do you guys do?"

"Not much, really. But well, Riese says we're going to be helping others. So, there's that, I guess?"

"I never heard a club like that. I mean, it's not that it's a bad thing. It's actually great that you guys help others out," she flusters and lets out a nervous laugh.

"So... this Friday, huh? I... hope that I'll be able to get in," her smiles turns to worry. She loses confidence again as she stares at the floor.

"Just wanna ask, do you like tennis?"

"I LOVE TENNIS!" the sudden outburst makes me flinch. "I'm sorry for that. But I really love tennis. My mom and dad are tennis players, and I love how they play. They're so awesome on how they serve and stroke! But... I'm not sure if I'll be able to be like them one day," she says with full enthusiasm before going to a depressed state again.

"Do you easily get depressed of everything?" I say, my voice showing a hint of annoyance.

"N-No, it's not like that! It's just--" before she speaks another word, I cut her off.

"Look, no matter what happens, no matter what other people say to you, don't you EVER lose confidence. If you lose confidence in yourself, not only are you hurting yourself, but you're also showing bad sportsmanship. Don't ever let go of that confidence, and you'll get this. You'll join the Tennis Club, and I just know it!" I do a corny pep talk, and it brightens up her mood. Her face is now brimming with confidence.

"You're right! I'll go home now and practice. Thanks Tabitha!" With high spirit, Nicole dashes off, carrying with her the tennis bag. Each step she takes, her smile becomes wider. Each step she takes, her confidence boosts up. Each step she takes, she's slowly changing from the scaredy-cat she once was into a stronger person. Like how I-- wait, why is she coming back?

"I forgot my bag," she continues that smile that just makes her look awkward. She dashes pass through me in a hurry and goes to the classroom. She then comes back, carrying her bag and a smile as she says goodbye again and leaves.

"Over-enthusiasm can lead to that. Trust me, I know, so don't get too full of yourself!" I yell to her and she turns around, gives me a wave and a big smiles, and leaves. She's full of confidence now, and I'm glad. I'm glad someone--

*ring*

Hmm... got a message from Riese.

"Yo, no club just in case you didn't read."

Uh... huh... Riese, you're 40 minutes late in sending this useless text. Well, whatever, it's time for me to go home. There's nothing much to do now, anyways.

The next day, at the club room. There's really nothing to do right now. It's not like there's anything that'll happen that's uber important aside from Nicole's exhibition match that's on Friday. I guess I could ask them to cheer for her when the day comes, but for now... there's something bugging me. Ken is just there, staring at Riese with a bored expression... or is that an angry expression? I honestly can't tell. Wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Yo, Ken, what's wrong?" I ask him. The others turn their heads towards him. Ken just shakes his head.

"You look like you're angry or something," Riese says. Ken returns with a sharp glare, making Riese do a dramatic pose of shock. "Eek! Yep, there's really something wrong with you."

Ken lets out a sigh. "Your message came 40 minutes late," was all he said.

"...Eh? You didn't read the sign?" Riese asks, his eyes blinking rapidly.

"There was no sign when I came inside."

"Oh... oh... I... I'm sorry," Riese goes into a corner and curls into a ball, drawing imaginary circles on the floor with his finger. "I didn't know that you were already here. I thought there was no one inside so I just put the sign there. I'm sorry," he starts to mutter words like he's chanting.

"Th-That's no reason to sulk, Riese. I mean, you didn't know," Varu tries to comfort Riese before apologizing to Ken.

"What were you guys doing, anyways? You didn't even bother telling us." I ask.

"They told me," Rue says shyly, raising his paw slightly. "B-But I went home right away. I thought that Riese and Varu already told you guys so..." he pushes his index fingers against each other as his voice begins to fade to the point that I can't hear what he's saying.

"We didn't?" Riese and Varu chorus. I nod in reply.

"Ugh, this makes it even worse," Riese says, acting more depressed.

"I'm very sorry. I had a bit of a fever yesterday so I really wasn't paying attention to anything that much. Telling you might have slipped my mind. Anyways, what happened yesterday was--" before Varu could continue, Riese swings his right arm around him and smiles, the depressed look instantly gone from his face.

"--that I kidnapped Varu, it says so in the note, remember," Riese says with a wide smile.

"No," Ken says bluntly, but just falls on deaf ears.

"Yeah, that's not what happened," Varu says, slowly freeing himself from Riese's grasp, but Riese isn't planning to let go of Varu. "Like I said, I got a fever yesterday and Riese forced me back to my home to tend to me. I'm already accustomed to being a bit sickly at school, so I could've been okay attending today's club meeting and going home with this fever. And dammit Riese, just get off!"

Riese lets go of Varu and chuckles with a devious grin. "Aw, but is that all that I did?"

"Yeah," Varu says bluntly.

"Boo, you forgot how I stayed there for the night as well, cooked dinner for you, and slept--" Varu covers Riese's mouth with his left paw, his brow twitching and his cheeks slightly blushing.

"Unnecessary information, Riese. They don't need to know that. Anyways, what did you guys do?" Varu removes his paw from Riese's mouth, whereas Riese is just puffing his cheeks like a little kid.

"Nothing much," Ken says. With that monotone, I can't tell if he was serious or was still guilt tripping.

"R-Right. Sorry, Ken. What about you, Tabitha?"

"Not much. Just helped someone try to join the club. You guys know Nicole Wilson?" Everyone aside from Ken nods. "Well, she wanted to join the Tennis Club and she's going to have an exhibition match this Friday. I was thinking, maybe we should cheer her on that day?"

"Sounds like a great idea!" Riese immediately chimes in. "Since there's nothing we can do now, might as well support a friend," Riese fist pumps. The others also agree with a smile.

Looks like Nicole will be in for a treat, because knowing these guys, they'll probably do something stupidly insane like how we tried to rescue Ken. Wonder what we'll be doing when Friday comes. It'll probably be something stupid from Riese, but not that I hate it. I do like him a bit because of his shenanigans and stupid ideas. It's what made this club unique, I guess.

The next day, during lunchtime, Riese, Varu, Rue, Ken and I are just enjoying our lunch together. This is the first time we did this, and the conversations just seem to flow naturally. Though, the whole chat is somewhat dominated by Riese, but mainly because he's just the one who's more talkative. Though, I didn't expect that to happen.

A female Tiger comes marching inside the classroom with two other felines, a Leopard and a Cheetah. They come here, bringing with them a menacing aura. I can't shake the feeling that something bad is gonna happen.

The Tiger, who I think is their leader, has short brown hair with fierce orange eyes. The Leopard has long, silver hair and her eyes shows a bored expression. The Cheetah has shoulder-length orange hair with mischievous eyes and a smirk. You can pretty much tell their personality right away from first impression.

"Who's Nicole Wilson here?" the Tiger asks. Nicole usually eats here as well, so it's no duh that she'd raise her paw so innocently.

"That'd be me," she says shyly. The Tiger goes near her, her face leaning closely to Nicole's face. She continues to glare at her for a few seconds before smirking and laughing snobbishly.

"Ahahaha! This is my opponent? She's just a little kitty-cat," she mocks her, even gesturing how small she is. The other two laughs with her, mocking Nicole while she's just there, confused, not knowing what's going on. She's being mocked, degraded, insulted. I want to smash that Tiger's face, but making a scene would just make things worse.

"Well, we'll see how good she really are in court," the Tiger shoots her a glare before grabbing hold of Nicole's collar and forcing Nicole near her face. "Listen well, runt. The name's Margarette Grit, and you best remember it. And I don't need your name, 'cuz I never remember a loser's name," Nicole is scared and she's starting to cry. I'm not letting this slide. Not on my watch!

"Hey, what's the big idea? What did she ever do to you?" I snap at the Tiger. The trio shoot me menacing glares before the Tiger forcefully shoves Nicole back to her seat.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Another kitty cat who's full of herself. Tell you what, you can go back to your little seat, play around with your little friends, and do what little things you do," she mocks me with a childish tone.

"I could do that, but that's also my little friend, there. And if you hurt her more, get ready for some butt-whooping, even if you guys are probably seniors," I crack my knuckles in an attempt to intimidate them, but they just laugh.

"It IS true what they say. The weak will always try to gather," they just continue to laugh. A bead of sweat rolls down my face. I'm scared, but I need to make a strong face for them. For Nicole. "Look here, don't mess with us, you little weakling. The next time you do? You'd wish you were never born," she goes near me and pokes my chest strongly, "Got that, runt?"

I stare at her fierce eyes with my own. She may, or may not be a senior, but that doesn't mean I'm someone who's just gonna let my friends get treated like that. Fire ignites in between our stares, a fierce fire of anger and pride. They will be our opponent. An opponent who is fierce and prideful, an opponent who will be hard to defeat, but not impossible.

The match is on Friday, but the battle has already begun. We're fighting through this, and we're going to leave this battlefield with a smile on our face. We're not just gonna give up. We're strong. I'm strong. And I know that.